Delicate, savoury, almost precious, roasted quail on a spit are a feast fit for a king! Get out your spits and logs, and I will explain how to proceed to get juicy and tasty meat.
Stuffed or plain, quail is particularly suited to roast cooking. In the photos that go with this feature, I tested 3 recipes. On 2 of the skewers, the quails are stuffed and they are not stuffed on the third one.
Let´s get started Squeeze them together!
Whatever your recipe, the quails should be packed closely and the legs held along the body. Close the opening in the stomach to avoid cooking them from the inside out. Either place the head of the second one against the stomach of the first, or close the opening with a croûton as you can see in the photos. Be sure to pack them well.
Leave plenty of time for them to cook…
Like any small birds, the temperature for quail needs to rise slowly. When you are in front of the fire, remember to keep the meat at an even temperature long enough for the exchange of flavours to take place. To give you an idea, the spit with the rods you can see remained in the fire for 70 minutes. You can do it twice as fast, but the meat will be dry and flavourless.
Cooking with spits and rods
The 3 skewers (or rods) turn both on their axis and on themselves. With this system, the cooking is a little slower because the exposure to the fire cuts off the calorie glow and the rod that is behind does not receive the heat from the fire as it is ""in the shadow"" so to speak. For small pieces, this is an important advantage. The heat that is captured on the surface penetrates to the heart on waves, more gently and more regularly than a traditional spit. The meat is less at risk of drying and the distance from the fire is easier to handle.
My 3 recipes Natural
There is nothing in particular, although the less fleshy parts of the quail should be covered. A thin covering will cut off the heat from the fire and allow you to cook evenly.
Autumn fruit
Prunes, a large fresh grape and an apple cut into small cubes. If you like the sweet and savoury taste, baste with a little honey. Personally, I don´t like to alter the flavours of the meat with sugary overtones and I mainly try to achieve meat that is soft and tender: the quail is what counts!
Mushroom
This is a classic that never gets old.
Fromage frais, sausage meat, bacon, horn of plenty, shallots
